"(China) is a country more akin to
authoritarian South Korea or
Taiwan in the 1970s and early '80s than it is to a
totalitarian police
state. The freedom to move, to choose a job or a place
to live, to travel,
and to make money has never been greater in China.
Life has gotten
better for most of its 1.3 billion people - much better for
many.
Some 200 million people have been lifted out of absolute poverty
since 1978."